Iran warns Israel to stop hostilities as situation in Middle East could go ‘out of control’

Washington: Iran has warned Israel to stop aerial strikes on Gaza otherwise the Middle East situation could spiral with “anything is possible at any moment”.

Political analysts consider this as a veiled threat from Iran that it could intervene at any time if Israel would commence the ground invasion of Gaza.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel and the US on Sunday that “if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control, USA Today reported.

The Israeli military intensified its military action striking targets in Syria, the West Bank and Gaza amid growing concern the Middle East war was set to escalate further which prompted Iran to issue the warning from Tehran.

The intensified military actions came as a convoy of humanitarian aid trucks made its way into Gaza from Egypt for a second day. But the UN warned the aid is about four per cent of the daily average of imports into previous conflicts and a fraction of what is needed, media reports said.

Hezbollah’s deputy leader in Lebanon, Sheikh Naim Kassem, warned Israel of a high price to pay if it went ahead with the much touted ground offensive in Gaza.

Syria said it was forced to shut down international airports in Damascus and Aleppo because of the Israeli strike.

The Syrian Transport Ministry said landing strips at both airports were damaged by missiles and one civilian worker was killed and another wounded at Damascus International Airport. Israel has carried out several strikes in Syria since the war began, citing the need to prevent Hezbollah and other militant groups from bringing in arms from Iran, which also supports Hamas, reports said.

Israel has sustained its attack on Gaza with continuous aerial strikes in an effort to “smoke out the Hamas from their rabbit holes and free the hostages held in cellars and underground bunkers”.

More than 1,000 Israelis were killed in the lightning strike by Hamas on October 7 as they entered Israeli territory and killed hundreds of soldiers and civilians, and fled with 200-odd hostages.

Israel justified its aerial strikes saying Hamas was unscrupulous and was operating from civilian bases such as schools, colleges, hospitals and mosques and places of worship using civilians as human shields.

“Bombardments continue almost unabated as hostilities enter the 15th day in Gaza,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its latest situation report, USA Today said.

The Rafah crossing from Egypt opened Saturday with the passage of 20 aid trucks, and saw 17 more trucks carrying food; water and medical supplies enter Gaza on Sunday. “It is imperative” to increase the number to at least 100 trucks per day,” the UN humanitarian affairs agency said.

The Israeli death toll has crossed 1,400, and they are claimed to be civilians killed in the first hours of Hamas’ bloody attack on border villages. At least 212 people were taken hostage while two Americans were released Friday in what Hamas described as a humanitarian gesture following the intervention of Qatar.

The Gaza Health Ministry estimated the Palestinian death toll at 4,385 — almost two-thirds of the casualties are children and women.

More than 1,000 people have been reported missing and are feared trapped or dead under the rubble, Palestinian authorities claimed.

IANS